Surveillance Capitalism

NGO: FIFA Has Rights-Based Duty to Assist Detained Soccer Player

January 08, 2019

Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch argues that the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has a duty under its new global human rights policies to pressure Thai authorities to release a soccer player detained in the country for extradition to Bahrain.
NGOs Sue Germany over Global Climate Pledges

January 04, 2019

As part of a growing trend of nongovernmental organizations filing lawsuits to require governments and businesses to comply with global climate standards, NGOs have filed a suit against Germany claiming that the government’s failure to force businesses to reduce carbon emissions is violating its citizens’ constitutional rights.
Microsoft Seeks Government, Business Action on Facial Recognition

January 04, 2019

President of Microsoft Brad Smith writes that governments must impose regulations on the development of facial-recognition technology, warning that the technology could “exacerbate societal issues,” and announces that his company is launching a framework of principles on facial recognition that could be applied across the tech industry.
UNGA Chief Prioritizes Anti-Plastics Action

January 03, 2019

In December, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Maria Fernanda Espinosa launched a Campaign Against Plastic Pollution pushing countries to begin phasing out the production of “single-use plastics” including water bottles as a “priority” during her one-year term.
UN Committee Points to Expansion of “Climate Finance”

January 03, 2019

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Standing Committee on Finance recently found an ongoing expansion of “climate finance,” aimed at fulfilling the goals of the UN’s Paris climate accord, though UN officials warned that the financing of the environmental agenda needed to increase rapidly to achieve the UN’s environmental agenda.
“Green” Banks Mobilize Funding for Environmental Agenda

January 03, 2019

The Green Bank Network, a membership group of banks dedicated to funding projects that fulfill global environmental goals, has touted recent transactions of its members that they expect will mobilize $41 billion toward “green” infrastructure projects.
Globalization 4.0 and the Globotics Upheaval

December 26, 2018

In a World Economic Forum blog post, Richard Baldwin explains how “Globalization 4.0” will cause a "Globotics Upheaval," whereby technology, artificial intelligence, and global telecommunicating will expose millions of service-sector and professional worker jobs to the challenges and opportunities of globalization.
NGOs Pressure UN Rights Chief on Israeli Settlements Database

December 18, 2018

A group of nongovernmental organizations has published a letter calling on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to follow through on plans to create an online database of businesses operating in Israeli settlements for the purpose of NGO-organized boycotts of and pressure on such companies.
NGOs Seek Resource Redistribution Through “Climate Justice Movement”

December 14, 2018

A press release from Greenpeace illustrates the expanding use by the so-called “Climate Justice Movement” to file lawsuits against corporations and governments around the world demanding policy changes to combat global warming and the redistribution of funds to redress alleged rights violations caused by a changing climate.
UBS Plans Social, Environmental Risk Assessments

December 14, 2018

Responding to calls from the movement for “socially responsible” investing, financial giant UBS Global Wealth Management has announced it will begin including environmental, social, and governance assessments in its 2019 reports to help clients gauge the exposure of their investments to risks like climate change.